v3.22.0.1
Employee benefit expenses and other operating income and expenses
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Employee benefit expenses and other operating income and expenses [Abstract]  
Employee benefit expenses and other operating income and expenses
Note 20.- Employee benefit expenses and other operating income and expenses

Employee benefit expenses
 
The table below shows employee benefit expenses and number of employees for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019:
 
   
For the year ended December 31,
  
   
2021
    
2020
    
2019
  
                   
Employee benefit expenses
    
78,758
      
54,464
      
32,246
  
Average monthly number of employees
    
655
      
441
      
306
  

The increase in employee benefit expenses in 2021 compared to 2020 is primarily due to the acquisition of Rioglass and Coso made effective in January 2021 and April 2021, respectively. The increase in 2020 compared to 2019 was primarily due to the internalization of operation and maintenance services in the U.S. solar assets of the Company, following the acquisition of ASI Operations in July 2019.

Other operating income and expenses

The table below shows the detail of Other operating income and expenses for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019:

   
For the year ended December 31,
  
Other operating income
  
2021
    
2020
    
2019
  
                   
Grants
    
60,746
      
59,010
      
59,142
  
Insurance proceeds and other
    
13,925
      
40,515
      
34,632
  
Total
    
74,670
      
99,525
      
93,774
  

   
For the year ended December 31,
  
Other operating expenses
  
2021
    
2020
    
2019
  
Raw materials and consumables used
    
(70,690
)
    
(7,792
)
    
(9,719
)
Leases and fees
    
(9,332
)
    
(2,531
)
    
(1,850
)
Operation and maintenance
    
(154,007
)
    
(110,873
)
    
(116,018
)
Independent professional services
    
(39,177
)
    
(40,193
)
    
(41,579
)
Supplies
    
(40,790
)
    
(27,926
)
    
(25,823
)
Insurance
    
(45,429
)
    
(37,638
)
    
(23,971
)
Levies and duties
    
(29,949
)
    
(39,820
)
    
(34,844
)
Other expenses
    
(24,957
)
    
(9,891
)
    
(7,971
)
Total
    
(414,330
)
    
(276,666
)
    
(261,776
)

Grants income mainly relate to ITC cash grants and implicit grants recorded for accounting purposes in relation to the FFB loans with interest rates below market rates in Solana and Mojave projects (Note 16).

The increase in other operating expenses in 2021 is primarily due to the business combinations made effective in 2021 (Note 5).